The C.A.S.H. Courier Newsletter

Winter
2013 IssueHow can I teach my kids to support your cause?

C.A.S.H. was recently contacted by a father looking for advice. If you
have any advice for John that you’d like to pass along, please contact us at
[email protected] and put “reply to John” in the subject
line. We will send him your suggestion.

Dear CASH:

How can I teach my kids to support your cause? Do you have any
experience with imparting your wisdom to children who are fascinated with
killing animals in video games? My son is seven and I’m looking for tools to
teach him empathy for nature.

Thank you for your website. It’s comforting to know I’m not alone.

John, Traverse City, MI

Hi John:

Thank you for contacting the Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting.

I don’t think there is any better way to teach children to respect
nature and wildlife than to immerse them in it. Take your son camping in the
state forest. Buy a book or two on animal tracks, or birds who are native to
the area and teach him how to identify them. Buy him a set of binoculars and
a camera, and introduce him to bird watching and wildlife photography.
Digital cameras are inexpensive and do not require parents to spend a
fortune on film developing - hooray for modern technology!

One game that a friend has played with her children on camping trips
is “nature bingo.” She created little bingo cards and in each box she’s
written in commonly found animals or natural features. You can adapt the
content of the boxes to what you will find in your area. Some were easy to
find, such as “jackrabbit” and “prickly pear cactus,” some moderate in
difficulty, like “coyote” and “rattlesnake den,” and some difficult, such as
“armadillo” or “horned toad.” The first person to get bingo would get their
choice of dessert at dinner.

Children are taught best through positive experiences, and by giving
them positive experiences with wildlife and nature they will feel more
attached, and care more about what happens to it.